Invest in people not in NATO!

Invest in people not in NATO!

01 June 2017

The Peace Working Group of the European Left is deeply concerned about the decisions taken during the recent NATO meeting of heads of state and government in Brussels. Their plans for more 'cash, capabilities, and contributions' roughly translates to 'more weapons, more soldiers, more wars'. This also means less money for social welfare and public services.The NATO alliance not only reaffirmed its commitment to each member state spending at least two percent of GDP on defence; it also put in place a yearly review process to assess the efforts of each member state over 'cash, capabilities, and contributions'.NATO is already by far the strongest military block and further military spending will only deepen this imbalance.

It is alarming that NATO has now officially joined the Anti-IS-Coalition. This will suck NATO states deeper into the quagmire of the so called 'war on terror', while failing to question cooperation with Turkey and Saudi Arabia. In fact, Saudi Arabia is getting further assistance from NATO states to continue its illegal hunger-blockade of Yemen. All in all, the NATO alliance has proved itself unable to reflect on its failures - like its intervention in Afghanistan - and it continues on its way towards further confrontation with Russia and even China.

The Working Group of the European Left demands cuts in military spending and steps towards dialogue and reconciliation, rather than increased military budgets and a new arms race. We demand the dissolution of NATO and oppose plans for deepening military cooperation between NATO and the European Union.